Open Your Eyes
by ficdirectory
Summary: Garcia counsels victims families, so Garcia counsels Jack.


Garcia sits back. This is different. She is used to counseling families of murder victims.

She never thought she'd be in a one-on-one session with little Jack Hotchner. She lets him take the lead. He is sullen and sad and jumpy. Garcia has already made sure that no one will be coming to her door, because the mere idea of someone unexpectedly knocking sends Jack into a panic.

He is lying on her carpet, a bear under his arm.

"Hey, Jack."

"Hi," he says softly.

"What do you want to do?" she asks.

But he doesn't move. He increases his chokehold on the bear.

"Nothing," he says quietly.

"Your dad says you've been having some pretty big feelings lately..." she ventures.

"You and my dad know each other from work," Jack observes.

"Yep, we do. I've known your dad for a long time. Ever since you were inside your mommy."

Jack looks up, interested. "Did my mommy love me?" he asks, totally honest, and breaking Garcia's heart.

"Of course she did, sweetie. She loved you so much."

"Oh. Sometimes I don't remember her that good..." he ventures. "...And sometimes I remember her too good."

"What do you mean, too good?" Garcia asks gently. She knows what he means. Sometimes she remembers her own parents too good, too.

"Like, I don't want to think about it, and then I do anyway."

"Mmm..."

Garcia doesn't have a psych degree, but she knows that a lot can be accomplished just by spending time with someone. Listening to them. In fact, she could have probably used some major counseling after her losing her own parents, but she hadn't gotten it. She hadn't known where to go. It was something she would have asked them about, but they were gone, so...

"Miss Garcia?" he asks.

"Yeah?"

"Nobody's coming, right? 'Cause when JJ watched me one time. The neighbor camed and I didn't think she was supposed to but she did..."

"Nope, I'm not expecting anybody. But you know what, even if somebody does come, I'll take care of it."

Jack looks skeptical.

"Hey. Let's play a game," she says, getting to her feet and taking his hand. Together, they walk through her apartment. She leads him through the old-fashioned doors into the kitchen. The wooden kind that people can see above and below.

"Which side do you want to be on?" she asks.

"Right here..." he says softly.

"Right on," she praises. Garcia pushes through them and stands on the other side, grinning at him. She knocks gently.

"Knock knock."

He cracks a smile.

"I _see_ you..."

"No, see... _I_ say 'Knock, knock' and you say..."

"Who's there?"

"It's the yellow Power Ranger," she answers in a silly voice, and Jack laughs.

"Nah-uh! You're my dad's work friend! You're Miss Garcia!"

"Your turn!" she says, trying to keep him engaged, and get him used to the sound of knocking.

"I'm a superhero!" he announces, still holding the bear by an arm.

"Uh-oh! I can see you're The Amazing Jack the Superhero, but I can't let you in until I hear your magical knock..."

Jack knocks three times.

Garcia opens the doors toward herself and throws her arms around him. "Welcome to the kitchen! Want a cookie?"

"I wanna play some more! It's your turn. This time, say you're my dad, okay? That would be so funny!"

So, Garcia and Jack play and play. Knocking and pretending so often that when the real Aaron Hotchner shows up and knocks, to pick up Jack, he doesn't flinch. He doesn't lose it.

He follows her lead.

"I wonder if it's The Easter Bunny?" she asked in a hush. "Let's go see." She fell into a little tune that she made up on the spot. "Listen for the knock and look through the hole and if we know who it is, we open the door."

She picked him up and carried him to the door, urging him to look through the peephole after she did so herself.

"Jack, that doesn't look like The Easter Bunny! Who _is_ that guy?"

"It's just my daddy! We can let him in!"

The smile he gave her was the reason, exactly, why she did what she did.

Hotch raises his eyebrows and she nods. Jack is wrapped around his neck.

"Thanks, Garcia."

"No problem. We had fun, didn't we?"

But Jack is suddenly shy. Not speaking a word.

And without warning, Garcia's throat closes with too much emotion.

She understands him. Probably too much. 


End file.
